Vermont Legislature SmartTranscripts:

[Ellen (Legislative Counsel)]: Alright.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Thank you. So I'm next to the municipal regulation of agriculture, and Ellen is back with us. Ellen has been in the House of Environment Committee quite a bit this week on this bill. I know Bradley has been made also part of the discussion, so we appreciate the work that that all other legislators are doing on this and the other committees work too. Since we aren't at a place yet, I think, where we have feedback from the House Environment Committee that we're comfortable with, I'm gonna suggest that we take the draft that we had most recently, which you'll recall had a carve out for tier 1a and 1b that municipalities would have the ability to regulate in a limited way agriculture that wasn't grandfathered in. And I'm gonna suggest that we strike out tier 1B there, so we just have tier 1A. With also a clarification on a date, the July 1 date, but I just wanted to have that say farming on July 1 rather than prior to July 1. That's just there was the intent there was not changing the intent. It was just I didn't communicate that well to Ellen before. There may have been one other change to make them make it read a little cleaner. That was the Do you remember what that was, Ellen? Okay. Well, let's pull it up. We pull up the last draft.

[Ellen (Legislative Counsel)]: I will try. L. Chittenden, the legislative council. My laptop is not working at its best right now. 6.1 is what we discussed yesterday.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: We can just look at ourselves.

[Ellen (Legislative Counsel)]: I am attempting right now to make sure everything is working on my laptop before I attempt to draft anything. So, I do need a minute. But I did I was here yesterday. Draft 6.1 was posted under my name for yesterday, and there were only a couple of changes that you all discussed yesterday in that draft. Yes. So yesterday, you had made a change about the eligibility, so it has to be a parcel where farming is taking place as of 07/01/2026.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Yep. Good.

[Ellen (Legislative Counsel)]: Took out the less restrictive language, and I think oh, and then added the environment committees to the the report at the end.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Yes. Okay. Good.

[Ellen (Legislative Counsel)]: Those were the only changes in yesterday's draft. I have not brought a new draft today.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Okay. So so I think that that is the You captured all of the things that we've discussed yesterday. They're in this draft 6.1. And the suggestion that I'm making is that That just removes tier one B.

[Rep. John O'Brien]: Everywhere it occurs? From the statement all the way down?

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Well, I think, yes, we would wanna be consistent. So everywhere it occurs, I guess, yeah. I will say just on the record that I don't think our work is going to be done. So we're doing this because crossover is today, and we want to have a bill in place still, put a bill in play. And I think that we're not at a place yet collectively to bring a bill under the floor unamended. So I expect there'll be some amendments, and we'll be part of that.

[Rep. Richard Nelson (Ranking Member)]: John? Are there any tier one As in the state currently?

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: I don't think that they've gotten, as far as I know, no. I think that the process hasn't just moved forward to a point where it could happen even. Right. As far as I know.

[Rep. John O'Brien]: Do I understand correctly, that's the basis of the environment committee's concern, is that these were specifying areas that aren't clearly defined yet? Yeah, think

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: that is definitely a concern that they raised.

[Rep. John O'Brien]: So that's a valid point, but we need to define something and we don't, I don't know that we have anything else.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Yeah, and I think just given the hour and that we're probably not at our peak, that we've we've got something that we've spent a lot of time on. And I said, this is what I feel comfortable doing. I think the committee is probably comfortable doing it. But we wanna hear what folks think too.

[Rep. Richard Nelson (Ranking Member)]: So just to be clear, it'll say tier 1A, we make these changes, not just tier one, we don't get rid of?

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and I see Yeah, go ahead, John.

[Rep. John O'Brien]: So that means that whatever tier one actually turns out to be, municipalities can regulate agriculture in those areas, but not anywhere else. That's what that

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: would mean, right? Yes, that's what that would mean if we weren't to do anything else. But I sit here today saying that I believe that we will continue to work on this next week.

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: Okay.

[Rep. John O'Brien]: First, agree with that change and understand that there's gonna

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: be more work done after

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: today. Alright. Thank you.

[Rep. John O'Brien]: John, and just to go on from what I said before, that in tier 1A, this would be on page four of they the old can regulate some stuff in 1A. Yes. They can regulate noise, smell, hours of operation. May not do that, but they may regulate these other one, two, three. Right. Yep. Okay.

[Ellen (Legislative Counsel)]: You did talk about briefly the third one, is the fire and building safety code. Yes. I just wanna take that one out.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: That was redundant. Yes.

[Ellen (Legislative Counsel)]: Alright. So I'll take that one out.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Thank you. Good catch.

[Rep. John O'Brien]: I

[Ellen (Legislative Counsel)]: will attempt to put it on the screen. My laptop is only sort of working right now. And so I don't We stopped the work IT was doing on it so that I could type on it right now. I did just make the changes and I will send it to you in a moment. Okay. So what I have so far is I have removed tier 1B from two places in the statement of purpose. I have removed tier 1B on page two from line six and seven, the citation reference on line seven. And on page three, line 19, the subdivision 15 heading. Page four, lines two and three.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Yes.

[Ellen (Legislative Counsel)]: And then that removal and those were the only tier one b references, and then I also just deleted subdivision room minute three on page four. Page 13. Yes. And I'm going to cross my fingers that this is about to save. And then I will email it to all of you right now.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Right. Address 751. Yes. 752. Richard, this is another video. Yeah. Sorry.

[Ellen (Legislative Counsel)]: I didn't send

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: it yet. 772.

[Rep. John O'Brien]: No. I just wanna make sure.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: 260772. 260772. Any well, I was double checking there. Any other comment?

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: You realize this is the thirteenth and it's Friday. Yep.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Alright. So it'll be draft 7.1.

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: Favorable with amendments, no, committee bill. Circle.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Are you comfortable with us moving ahead with a vote? Yes. Okay.

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: It's 6.2, you said? 7.1. 7.1.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Alright. Is there a motion to introduce this committee bill? So moved. Thank you, representative Bartholomew. Is there any other discussion? The clerk may call the roll.

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: John Bartholomew. Yes. Michelle Bos-Lun.

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: Yes.

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: Jack bring them. Yes.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Greg Burtt. Yes. Sent it to you.

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: Jed Lipsky, absent. Richard Nelson, yes. John O'Brien?

[Rep. John O'Brien]: Yes.

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: Chair David Durfee?

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Yes.

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: 701.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Okay. And it just came through from Ellen. Okay. I will send this to the clerk and I will be prepared to report it in whatever form that ultimately ends up here. Okay, thank you. Thank you everyone. That's another, I know we're not done, and I just want be clear that we're not done, but done with that for the day anyway. The only other bill that we've got on our agenda is the rodenticide bill. And when we had the conversation yesterday and took a straw poll, didn't have support in the committee. And it's not unusual for us to take a vote as we did earlier. If we don't have support, that doesn't normally happen. And I don't feel that we need to move ahead with that unless anybody's changed their mind who wasn't supporting it. I think we heard the concerns yesterday. I'm going to suggest that we wrap things up for the day. It's been a long day and a long week and appreciate everybody's time. And we'll pick it up again on Tuesday.

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: I just wanna say that I really enjoyed working in this committee, and I value everybody's opinions because we do come from different places with different cross different ideas or different and I don't wanna see values because we all value Vermont. We all value the place that we live. And and everything's a work in progress. And chair Durfee had said to me earlier in the year that he may be bringing a bill that I might not find favorable. And before we could start to describe it, I explained to him, I said that is his right and his prerogative to bring a bill that his constituents, they feel they need bringing in, and it is our prerogative to have good, open, and frank discussion. I don't even wanna call it debate. I wanna call it discussion. And and that's how our democracy functions. And today, we had a lot of discussion on the floor, and it was of value. And I value everything we heard, and although we may not always agree, we can agree that we will work on the next one with just the same amount of vigor, and maybe we will agree. And so, anyways, I'm proud to be a member of this body, and the friends of the the new friends that I've made. So, almost won't say that. That sounds like a, like, May 31. Well, hope it's a May 5 I hope it's a May 5 or something.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: It's Cornfield. You'll be back on Tuesday, right?

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: Thank you. What's that?

[Rep. John O'Brien]: It's warm enough. It was warm enough to Earth before.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Oh, yeah.

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: Gonna have any sap weather this weekend, Greg? Monday, Sunday. Sunday.

[Rep. John O'Brien]: Just adding to what you say, one thing that I really experienced when I was at agriculture before, and I feel like this is gonna be the same experience, is We can have really heated debates on the floor and everyone is in a tizzy coming into committee, but generally we are able to leave it at the door and come in and do good work despite what we've been through on the floor. So it's something I've always appreciated about this committee.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: And I think having been on other committees too, and every committee is different for sure, but I have generally found that that's the case the other committees I've served in that say what you need to say, and then in here, we're

[Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun]: a little differently. John, if I may, we talk about bringing amendments to the floor, and we say we gotta do this right. So it's rep Bartholomew proof when he gets out to ask if there's germane or not. But you make us better legislators by doing that. You really do.

[Rep. John O'Brien]: The whole point of the rules is to keep things moving along.

[Rep. David Durfee (Chair)]: Again, thank you everybody for your work and another year, another time I would do things differently than have all these bills the last day. That's bit much. And again, thank you to the Legis Council. Some of you are here, some of you have already left. Thank you for bearing with us. Really, Good, well everybody have a good weekend, rest of the weekend.